Napoli, Manna: almost blackmailed by Kvara. "The market? Our economic parameters weigh"

Naples, 5 February 2025 - How the weather changes: from summer praise for a pharaonic market to winter criticism for a seemingly muted session which, while waiting for the verdict on the pitch, will go down in history for the sale of Khvisha Kvaratskhelia. In the middle there is a Napoli still top of the league but returning from the braking against the Rome which has somewhat dampened the enthusiasm, in turn calmed by a transfer campaign that for many did not live up to expectations. The Neapolitan club is not having it and, in the person of the sporting director John Manna, he says his piece in a marathon press conference.  

From Kvara to Comuzzo, passing through Danilo

It is inevitable to start from the farewell of Fourth, for non-style timing Napoli. "In these days we have read dynamics and interpretations that are not always true. We thank kvaratskhelia for what he did for this club in a difficult moment, but starting in July we tried to heal the fracture. We tried again in November and December, but nothing, and so we were forced to sell him now almost as if under blackmail. I read someone who spoke of a recovery of the budget after the summer purchases, but that is not the case: just think that up to twenty days before selling him we were trying to negotiate a renewal at very important figures. Things did not go well and he left but the Napoli immediately tried to replace him adequately on the market, also respecting the status he represented at a media level for this team. We were unable to finalise negotiations because in January the parameters are different and it is difficult for strong players to move. Then there are our parameters, those that the Napoli had, has and will also have in the future at a salary level which in turn counts". From bad news to good news that comes on the renewal front: at stake are the extensions of Mathias Olivera, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa e Alex Meret. "With Olive we are one step away from signing also thanks to his will. Also Meret he wants to stay and in December we made an appointment for quieter moments, so in the next few weeks the discussion could reopen and the same goes for Anguissa, whose contract already includes an option to extend for two years". The clouds return when the transfer market is discussed again, thus shifting to defence. From Danilo a Pietro Comuzzo: everything ended with nothing being done. "Danilo I know him from my previous experience at Juventus and I can say that we had defined everything: we were waiting for him but then he made another choice on a personal and family level. Comuzzo it would have been a great investment for us, especially with a view to the future: furthermore, it would have allowed us to Rafa Marin to go and play elsewhere, and even in this case everything was already done. We had presented a real, true offer to the Fiorentina to get a player who wouldn't even have made the list, but it didn't work out. It's a shame for the media hype, just as it's a shame that things didn't go the way we wanted. We sold an important player and expectations were high, so perhaps we implicitly created them too, but at the same time we have a group that has so far collected 54 points and we must not belittle it."

Kvara's (possible) heirs: from Garnacho to Okafor

Manna fa mea culpa perhaps even beyond his own possible demerits, also because the general impression is that the greatest brakes on the negotiations have come from the highest levels of the Neapolitan club and from its already mentioned economic parameters which according to many could be an obstacle to the future growth of ambitions. "We are making a great journey starting from a team that last year had arrived tenth and it is important to recognize all this. Now, also thanks to the work of the coach, we have brought back the Napoli in line with its objectives, above all the return to European competitions, but undoubtedly for certain economic aspects this place can still be seen as a transitional one: especially when there is someone who offers more. This growth here is also part of a path that we are taking and that requires time, not being able to be completed in a few months". What is completed is the market and what it has established for the attack, between suggestions and players who have actually arrived. "The list for after Fourth It's long and not all the names have come out publicly. Alexander Garnacho in reality we had been negotiating with him for some time and we came close to taking him now and not in July, when it will be different, but even in this case we thought about the economic parameters: inserting a young player into the squad but who would have already earned so much did not seem right for the others. For Karim adeyemi we had a draft agreement with the Borussia Dortmund, but the veto came from the player, while for Allan Saint-Maximin there were some bureaucratic problems. It's a shame, but the money coming from the sale of kvaratskhelia will be invested in the future to complete the squad". We then return to the sale of the Georgian, with Manna which reveals some background information. "Together with his entourage he was in contact with the Paris Saint-Germain since May. We had two offers, one of which included two players, but we didn't want to sell him in the summer to give a sign of strength in view of the start of the new cycle. We resisted until the end, but then we had no choice". The replacement, for some little more than a patch, is called Noah okafor, who in mid-January had not passed the medical tests with the Leipzig: a detail that is perhaps not insignificant and that worries the club about the player's integrity. "These are dynamics of other clubs and not entirely true. He had an injury in December, he is behind the others according to some parameters, but also thanks to the coach's methods he has time to find his best form again".

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